Reconciliation

Adam and Eve

Flesh is corporeal in that "God formed the man from the dust of the ground"
(Ge 2:7). But it lacks the dimension of life. For this reason God "breathed into
his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being" (:7).
Therefore you might say that there is an inner as well as outer man. This is
reflected in "who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit
within him" (1Co 2:11)? On the sixth day "God created man in His own image" (Ge
1:27) in "spirit and soul and body" (1Th 5:23). "It is I who made the earth and
created man upon it" (Isa 45:12). "It was Adam who was first created" (1Ti 2:13)
and in Hebrew his name means "humanity." In an extended sense the word "flesh"
is also humanity. The human race inherits from Adam for, "as in Adam all" (1Co
15:22), applies to everyone. "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was
very good" (Ge 1:31). Therefore it cannot be concluded that man is inherently
sinful.

When God put Adam in the Garden of Eden he "commanded the man" (Ge
2:16) "from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in
the day that you eat from it you will surely die" (:17). It was not said that
"you will drop dead" as if it was poisonous. So to die must mean that death was
not part of God's scheme of things, but it would transpire if Adam was
disobedient. "The Lord fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from
the man" (Ge 2:22) and they "were both naked and were not ashamed" (:25).
However, Eve "took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with
her, and he ate" (3:6). "It was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being
deceived, fell into transgression" (1Ti 2:14). Transgression is defined as
lawlessness and it is against God's instruction because God asked, "'Have you
eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?'" (Ge 3:11). But when
they ate of the fruit of the tree "the eyes of both of them were opened, and
they realized they were naked so they . . . made coverings for themselves"
(3:7). They had "become like one of us knowing good and evil" (:22). Did they
know being naked as good or evil? They didn't feel shame before, but it seems
they did now. They had to replace the innocence of their previous condition with
a covering and God, himself, had to make "garments of skin for Adam and his
wife" (:21). In Laodicea they didn't know that they were "wretched and miserable
and poor and blind and naked" (Rev 3:17). God advises "buy from me . . . white
garments that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may
not be revealed" (3:18).

What had Adam done? He was "the one who sinned" (Ro
5:16). What is sin? It is a "transgression" (:15) or "offense" (:15 KJV). It is
also a "trespass" (:15 RSV). You've seen signs saying "NO TRESPASSING." "God
commanded . . . you shall not eat" (Ge 2:16-17). But Adam violated the command.
"Through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners" (Ro 5:19). “All
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Ro 3:23). The result was
"through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin" (:12). But
others "had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam" (:14). Then
"death spread to all men" (:12) because "in Adam all die" (1Co 15:22). Sin is
the culprit because "the sting of death is sin" (1Co 15:56). "The wages of sin
is death" (Ro 6:23). Therefore "sin reigned in death" (5:21) and "death reigned"
(:17). "Death works in us" (2Co 4:12). One might respond that everyone has to
die naturally anyway. But you should consider "him who had the power of death,
that is, the devil" (Heb 2:14).

Some might say that the rendition of Adam and
Eve is just a metaphor because evolution proves otherwise. But God said,
"Because you have listened to the voice of your wife . . . cursed is the ground
because of you" (Ge 3:17). "By a man came death" (1Co 15:21) and "you will all
likewise perish" (Lk 13:3). Death is firstly interpreted as physical death.
"Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death" (Heb 11:5). "It is appointed
for men to die once" (9:27). Sin is the reason for the problem. You are "dead in
your trespasses and sins" (Eph 2:1). Consequently you "shall be condemned" (Mk
16:16) and therefore must be "saved from wrath" (Ro 5:9). Sin contributes to the
inevitable. It is "cause and effect" because it's a "law of sin and of death"
(8:2). "The outcome of those things is death" (6:21) since there "is a sin
leading to death" (1Jn 5:16). It is said we live in the flesh. However, "if you
are living according to the flesh, you must die" (Ro 8:13). "The mind set on the
flesh is death" (8:6). "With my flesh [I serve] the law of sin" (7:25)
"resulting in death" (6:16). "While we were in the flesh, the sinful passions .
. . were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death: (7:5).

Every human knows that occasionally he will sin. There is no excuse, for Paul
reminds that "we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under
sin" (Ro 3:9). Some believe that Adam and Eve's existence is figurative and that
the Bible's explanation of sin is allegorical. But "the first man Adam became a
living being" (1Co 15:45). "The first man is from the earth . . . [and] so also
are those who are earthy" (:47-48). "It was Adam who was first created and then
Eve (1Ti 2:13). "But the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression"
(:14). The consequences are imposed "even over those who had not sinned in the
likeness of Adam's offense" (Ro 15:14). Due to a solidarity with Adam and "not
knowing about God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own" (Ro 10:3)
Jesus warned the Pharisees, "'You are those who justify yourselves in the sight
of men'" (Lk 16:15). God "rested on the seventh day from all His work which He
had done" (Ge 2:2). "The works were finished from the foundation of the world"
(Heb 4:3). But when Adam disobeyed God he demonstrated that he didn't trust what
God had done and believed the serpent who said, "'You will be like God, knowing
good and evil'" (Ge 3:5). Afterwards "God sent them out of the garden of Eden"
(:23).

Paul says "I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my
flesh" (Ro 7:18). He states "no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which
dwells in me" (:17). Sin reigns "in your mortal body" (6:12) and is a "body of
death" (7:24). "The Scripture has shut up everyone under sin" (Gal 3:22) "making
me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members" (Ro 7:23). The
"pleasures of sin" (Heb 11:25) "easily entangles" (12:1) and sin can become
"master over you" (Ro 6:14). It has "lusts" (:12) and "coveting of every kind"
(7:8). You can be "led into" (2Co 11:29) and "caught in any trespass" (Gal 6:1).
Then you can "be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin" (Heb 3:13). Paul was
acutely aware of sin. "Those who are according to the flesh set their minds on
the things of the flesh" (Ro 8:5). "Those who are in the flesh cannot please
God" (:8). He made it clear that it wasn't just his opinion of what sin is. In
fact, even though "sin was in the world . . . [it was] not imputed" (5:13)
before the law. "Apart from the Law sin is dead" (7:8). "I would not have come
to know sin except through the Law" (:7). It was a "commandment, which was to
result in life" (:10) by way of a "ministry . . . in letters engraved on stones"
(2Co 3:7). "The Law came in so that the transgression would increase" (Ro 5:20).
Therefore "the Law is spiritual" (7:14). This behavior is explained as man's
"flesh with its passions and desires" (Gal 5:24). It could be said that man's
human nature is physical, sensuous and earthy. "The spirit is willing but the
flesh is weak" (Mt 26:41). Man's flesh is but "a wind that passes and does not
return" (Ps 78:39). "All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the
flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades" (Isa 40:6-7). He
continues with "the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality,
impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts
of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and
things like these" (Gal 5:19-21). "The heart is more deceitful than all else and
is desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jer 17:9).

Came to Seek

Since man couldn't help himself God decided to solve the problem. "God so
loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son" (Jn 3:16) as a
propitiation. He was "revealed" (1Ti 3:16) and sent "in the likeness of sinful
flesh" (Ro 8:3), "has come in the flesh" (1Jn 4:2), and was made "in the
likeness of men" (Php 2:7) as a "descendant of David" (Ro 1:3). This was to
demonstrate His righteousness" (Ro 3:24-25). John saw the "Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world!" (Jn 1:29). Jesus "will save His people from their
sins" (Mt 1:21). Your sins will be "wiped away" (Ac 3:19). How is this
accomplished? It is because "Christ died for our sins" (1Co 15:3). He "was
delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our
justification" (Ro 4:25). God "made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf"
(2Co 5:21) and he was "offered once to bear the sins of many" (Heb 9:28). "He
died to sin once for all" (Ro 6:10) and "condemned sin in the flesh" (8:3).
Jesus said "'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE', for I did not come to call
the righteous, but sinners" (Mt 9:13). Christ gave "His life a ransom for many"
(Mt 20:28) and therefore "in Him we have redemption through His blood" (Eph
1:7). You believe that he is the "propitiation for our sins" (1Jn 2:2).
Therefore "consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ
Jesus" (6:11). We are "always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus so
that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body" (2Co 4:10). Because
of what Christ accomplished "the life which I now live in the flesh I live by
faith in the Son of God" (Gal 2:20). Paul said "I have been crucified with
Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ in me" (:20). "Christ is in
you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of
righteousness" (Ro 8:10).

Paul noted in Romans 3 by quoting that "The Lord
has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there are any who
understand, who seek after God" (Ps 14:2). Why does Christ seek the lost? It is
because no one seeks on their own since "every one of them has turned aside;
together they have become corrupt" (Ps 53:3). Paul elaborates in Romans 10 by
citing "I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I
permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me" (Isa 65:1). Paul asks
"how shall they hear" (Ro 10:14) without anyone telling them? He also asks
"surely they have never heard, have they?" (:17). But he affirms the
promulgation of doctrine in Romans 10 by quoting "their line has gone out
through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world" (Isa 19:4).
However Isaiah asks, "Who has believed our message?" (53:1). Paul then presents
the caveat that "a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God;
for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are
spiritually appraised" (1Co 2:14). If you need the Spirit to comprehend
scripture, but don't have the Spirit because you haven't experienced salvation,
then it is a "catch-22" and you need a way to comprehend the gospel initially.
Paul said he was "not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for
salvation to every one who believes" (Ro 1:16). Scriptures "have been written
that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ" (Jn 20:31). It is "the message of
truth, the gospel of your salvation" (Eph 1:13) and the "living and enduring
word of God" (1Pe 1:23). "All scripture is inspired by God" (2Ti 3:16) and "if
any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching whether it is
of God" (Jn 7:17). It is revelation by "faith which comes by hearing, and
hearing by the word of Christ" (Ro 10:17). The Greek word rhema defines it as
the Living Word of God himself speaking. Jesus told Peter "'flesh and blood did
not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven'" (Mt 1:17).

Repentance

How would you answer a person who asked, "Why would I have to repent if I
didn't sin like Adam?" (Ro 5:14). Adam sinned because he broke God's commandment
(Ge 2:17). He disobeyed (even rebelled) because he was not deceived (1Ti 2:14).
Perhaps he ate the fruit Eve gave him because he just wanted to keep her happy.
Maybe he rationalized that death would be only a temporary disciplinary action.
It's possible he considered knowing more and becoming wiser would be worth it.
"Through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners" (Ro 5:19). It's
as though we, as descendants, have inherited the "original sin." Since "by a man
came death" (1Co 5:21), through solidarity with Adam, "death spread to all men,
because all sinned" (Ro 5:12). "Like Adam they have transgressed the covenant"
(Hosea 6:7). Our guilt is imputed in a legal way as if a contract has been
violated and a judgment has taken place because the ground has been cursed (Ge
3:17-18). This is the Adamic Covenant where Adam, as the representative of the
human race, causes God to introduce physical death saying, "'You [will] return
to the ground, because from it you were taken'" (:19). Others may say that
Adam's nature became corrupted by the sin and that we inherit the corruption and
sin automatically (Ro 5:19). Calvinists believe that we are incapable of being
spiritually saved except for God's grace. So if you repent for these reasons you
acknowledge that "through the obedience of the One the many will be made
righteous" (:19).

Repentance is therefore necessary. John the Baptist began
preaching, "'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand'" (Mt 3:2). The
purpose of it was "for the forgiveness of sins" (Mk 1:4). It is because "all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Ro 3:23). Then "Jesus came into
Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and
the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel'" (Mk 1:14-15).
Paul said, "Having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to
men that all people everywhere should repent'" (Ac 17:30). Isaiah said to "turn
from transgression" (Isa 59:20) and Ezekiel said to tell him to "turn from his
wickedness or from his wicked way" (Eze 3:19). Paul said "the Lord will . . .
bring to an end . . . the activity of Satan . . . with all the deception of
wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the
truth to be saved" (2Th 2:8-10). The disciples told Jesus about the Galileans
who Pilate had killed. He replied, "'Unless you repent, you will all likewise
perish'" (Lk 13:3). To perish means to die or be destroyed. God said to Ezekiel,
"'Warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live'" (Eze 3:18). Jesus said,
"'Whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life'" (Jn 3:16).
Also, "'I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish'" (10:28). The
Lord is "patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come
to repentance" (2Pe 3:9). "Do you not think . . . that the kindness of God leads
you to repentance?" (Ro 2:4). "The sorrow that is according to the will of God
produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation" (2Co 6:10). It is
"repentance toward God" (Ac 20:21).

Restoration

God was the only one who could restore the relationship with man. He told the
serpent he would "'put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed
and her Seed'" (Ge 3:15). Her seed (future offspring) was Christ which is why
the word is capitalized. There was enmity because "while we were enemies we were
reconciled to God through the death of His Son" (Ro 5:10). God said, "'He shall
bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel'" (Ge 3:15). God developed his
plan through Abraham and told him "'because you have done this thing and have
not withheld your son" (22:16) "in your seed all the nations of the earth shall
be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice'" (:18). Then "after he had
patiently endured, he obtained the promise" (Heb 6:15). God told Abram, "'Know
for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not
theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years'" (Ge
15:13). God has everything in control and cites that "'when Israel was a youth I
loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son'" (Hos 11:1). Jesus remained in
Egypt "until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the
Lord through the prophet: 'Out of Egypt I called My Son'" (Mt 2:15). God led
Israel out of Egypt. Even then Hebrews explains that "the gospel was preached to
us as well as to them" (Heb 4:2). Unfortunately God explains, "'It is a people
who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.' So I swore in My
wrath, they shall not enter My rest" (Ps 95:10). "There remains a rest for the
people of God" (Heb 4:9). "But the word which they [Israel] heard did not profit
them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it" (:2). "He who entered
His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His" (:10).
God's plan was implemented via Israel. Paul reminds the Gentiles "that you were
at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and
strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the
world" (Eph 2:12). "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself" (2Co
5:19). His purpose was "through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having
made peace through the blood of His cross" (Col 1:20) which "put to death the
enmity" (Eph 2:16). "He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through
death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond
reproach" (Col 1:22). He reconciled "both [Jew and Gentile] in one body to God
through the cross" (Eph 2:16). Paul encourages "on behalf of Christ, to be
reconciled to God" (2Co 5:20). "Having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His
life" (Ro 5:10).

Redemption

To redeem means to get possession of something you don't own by paying for
it. Perhaps ownership of something was lost and you want to regain it. There is
the case where a man was "so poor . . . as to sell himself" (Lev 25:47) as a
slave. Fortunately "one of his brothers may redeem him" (:48) or "if he
prospers, he may redeem himself" (:49). "If a ransom is demanded of him, then he
shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is demanded of him" (Ex
21:30). In man's case we had been "severed from Christ" (Gal 5:4) and "alienated
and hostile in mind" (Col 1:21). "God created man in His own image" (Ge 1:27).
But now Adam had "a son in his own likeness" (5:3), and due to the fall of man,
this image was not equivalent to the original likeness because man's
relationship with God had deteriorated. Unfortunately man was caught in a "yoke
of slavery" (Gal 5:1) and "through fear of death were subject to slavery all
their lives" (Heb 2:15). "'We are slaves; yet in our bondage, [and] our God has
not forsaken us, but has extended lovingkindness to us'" (Ez 9:9). "God
demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us" (Ro 5:8). Christ had to accomplish this because "no man can by any
means redeem his brother or give God a ransom for him--for the redemption of his
soul is costly, and he should cease trying forever" (Ps 4:7-8). Redemption means
to buy back by making payment, and in man's predicament, it pertains to freeing
him from his bondage to sin. Therefore Jesus explained, "'the Son of Man did not
come to be served, but to serve, and give His life a ransom for many'" (Mk
10:45). The payment of a ransom applies to a loosing or setting someone free,
and by this, the Father through Christ is regaining possession of something that
originally was his as a "redemption of God's own possession" (Eph 1:14). It is
"the church of God which He purchases with His own blood" (Ac 20:28). "Without
shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Heb 9:22). Christ "gave Himself as a
ransom for all" (1Ti 2:5) since "God was in Christ reconciling the world to
Himself" (2Co 5:19). Someone once told me that it means everyone automatically
goes to heaven. But you must appropriate what Christ has done to make it
personally official.

Christ "cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting
of decrees against us; and . . . nailed it to the cross" (Col 2:14). However,
"the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness" (1Co 1:18).
But it is serious and not just academic. Christ "redeemed us . . . having become
a curse for us" (Gal 3:13) by his crucifixion. It was from "the curse of the
Law" (:13) for "forgiveness of our trespasses" (Eph 1:7). It is "redemption
[for] the forgiveness of sins" (Col 1:14) and "transgressions that were
committed under the first covenant" (Heb 9:15). It was to redeem us "from your
futile way of life inherited from your forefathers" (1Pe 1:18) and "from every
lawless deed . . . [to be] zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2:14). He "rescued us
from the domain of darkness" (:13) and "from the hand of our enemies" (Lk 1:74).
It was a "testimony given at the proper time" (1Ti 2:6) and "displayed publicly
as an atonement in His blood through faith" (Ro 3:25). "Jesus said, "'This cup
is the new covenant in My blood'" (1Co 11:25) "poured out for many" (Mk 14:24).
Redemption has numerous important objectives. One result is that we are
"justified as a gift by His grace" (Ro 3:24). It is so "we might receive the
adoption as sons" (Gal 4:5) and to "receive the promise of eternal inheritanace"
(Heb 9:15). We have "the first fruits of the Spirit" (Ro 8:23) and are "sealed"
(Eph 4:30) by the Holy Spirit. Christ to us becomes "wisdom from God, and
righteousness, and sanctification" (1Co 1:30). Through Christ we "are believers
in God . . . so that your faith and hope are in God" (1Pe 1:21). "Through His
own blood, He entered the holy place once for all" (Heb 9:12) having "purchased
for God . . . men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation" (Rev 5:9).
"Do you not know . . . that you are not your own?" (1Co 6:19,20). "You were
bought with a price; do not become slaves of men" (7:23).

Eternal Life

The first message that John the Baptist and Jesus preached was "'Repent, for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand'" (Mt 4:17). Then early in Jesus' ministry he
had a conversation with "Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews" (Jn 3:1). Jesus
revealed, "'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God'" (:5). Some people say that
unless you aren't water baptized you don't qualify, but Jesus is stating a
principle and not creating a checklist based upon works. Nicodemus didn't
understand so Jesus responded, "'Are you a teacher of Israel and do not
understand these things?'" (:10). The Jews had the Old Testament scriptures and
were supposed to understand spiritual things. Jesus observed, "'You do not
believe [earthly things] so how shall you believe if I tell you heavenly
things?'" (:11). Then he proceeded to say "'whoever believes in Him should not
perish, but have eternal life'" (:16). I've heard people say that its difficult
to grasp the concept of eternity much less living forever. The translation of
Melchizedik's name is "king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem" (Heb
7:2). "Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither
beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he abides a
priest perpetually" (:3). "His name will be called . . . Eternal Father, Prince
of Peace" (Isa 9:6). "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever"
(Heb 13:8).

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God" (Jn
1:1). He is "the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father" (:18). He
said to the Father, "'You loved Me before the foundation of the world'" (17:24).
Jesus said it was "'the glory which I had with You before the world was'" (:5).
This was before the Creation. "He is before all things" (Col 1:7). Jesus has
"neither beginning of days nor end of life" (Heb 7:3). He says, "'I am the Alpha
and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end'" (Rev 22:13).
He is "the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb 13:8). "'I say to you,
before Abraham was born, I am'" (Jn 8:58). "In Him all the fullness of Deity
dwells in bodily form" (Col 2:9). This relationship is cited as having been
predicted by a prophet regarding a Messiah being born in Bethlehem (Mt 2:4). The
facts are scripturally correlated. The scriptures are "God-breathed" (2Ti 3:16)
as the Spirit "carried along" (2Pe 1:21) the writers. What is written about
Jesus is from the Spirit. God "has testified concerning His Son" (1Jn 5:9).
Jesus said the Holy Spirit would "teach you all things and remind you of
everything I have said to you'" (Jn 14:26 NIV). That is why they had knowledge
impossible to know otherwise. Jesus was "in the beginning with God" (1:2). "All
things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being
that has come into being" (:3). "'You, Lord, in the beginning laid the
foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands'" (Heb
1:10). "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth,
visible and invisible" (Col 1:16). "The world was made through Him" (Jn 1:10).
It is He "for whom are all things, and through whom are all things" (Heb 2:10).

To understand Biblical doctrine you must comprehend what the Bible says. It may
sound like a circular argument but its possible to be "handling accurately the
word of truth" (2Ti 2:15). God gave the Bible's authors accurate information
because "men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God" (2Pe 1:21). How do you
understand the concept of eternal life? Eternity depends on God. God says, "'I
am God. Even from eternity I am He'" (Isa 43:12-13). "'His goings forth are from
long ago, from the days of eternity'" (Mic 5:2). "'You are from everlasting'"
(Ps 93:2). "'Are You not from everlasting?'" (Hab 1:12). Furthermore, "'I live
forever'" (Dt 32:40). "'From everlasting to everlasting, You are God'" (Ps
90:2). "'Your years will not come to an end'" (Ps 102:27). "'The Lord shall
reign forever and ever'" (Ex 15:18). He saved Israel "with an everlasting
salvation . . . to all eternity" (Isa 45:17). "His ways are everlasting" (Hab
3:6). This "momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of
glory far beyond all comparison" (2Co 4:17). It depends upon your perspective.
"Things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are
eternal" (2Co 4:18). "The one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap
eternal life" (Gal 6:8). "We have a building from God, a house not made with
hands, eternal in the heavens" (2Co 5:1). The "free gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Ro 6:23). "This is the promise which He Himself made
to us: eternal life" (1Jn 2:25). "God has given us eternal life, and this life
is in His Son" (5:11). "'This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent'" (Jn 17:3). Christ "died for sins
once for all" (1Pe 3:18). "Having been made perfect, He became to all those who
obey Him the source of eternal salvation" (Heb 5:9). Therefore "'he who believes
in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see
life'" (Jn 3:36). Jesus cautioned the Jews, "'You think that in [the Scriptures]
you have eternal life . . . [but] you are unwilling to come to Me so that you
may have life'" (5:39-40).

Saved by Grace

There is a second kind of birth. Jesus said "no one can enter the kingdom of
God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but
the Spirit gives birth to spirit" (Jn 3:5-6). This is possible whereby "all of
us who were baptized into Christ" (Ro 6:3) were "all baptized by one Spirit"
(1Co 12:13). Therefore "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (2Co
5:17). Furthermore Jesus will "baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Mt 3:11). "If
anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" (Ro
8:9). It is not God's will that anyone should perish (Mt 18:14). The gospel is
"the power of God to salvation" (Ro 1:16). To keep from perishing, the gospel
provides "a righteousness that is by faith . . . [so that] the righteous will
live by faith" (:17). The theme of Romans is justification by faith. No one
lacks faith because it "comes by hearing" (10:17). "What may be known about God
is plain because God has made it plain" (1:19 NIV). The truth (:18) is more
accurately defined in verse 25 as the "truth about God." The truth is "known"
(:19,:21), "seen, understood" (:20), "knowledge" (:28), and "knowing" (:32).
"What may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them"
(:19 NKJV). "Since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities . . .
have been clearly seen" (:20). They include his eternal power and deity.God
is "clearly seen" (Ro 1:20) and "they knew God" (:21). "God made it evident to
them . . . since the creation of the world" (:19-20). They saw "His invisible
attributes . . . through what has been made so that they are without excuse"
(:20). This includes "His eternal power and divine nature" (:20). This
revelation is "faith [which] comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of
Christ" (10:17). In Greek it is "rhema" which means the "Living Word" or God
himself speaking. It would "show the work of the Law written in their hearts"
(2:15). "God made it evident to them" (1:19) and since it was "within them"
(:19) "the word is . . . in your heart (10:8). God has allotted to each a
measure of faith" (12:3). Even Paul recognized that he "received [his
revelation] from the Lord" (1Co 11:23) and he "received it through a revelation
of Jesus Christ" (Gal 1:12). This was "the word of faith which we are preaching"
(10:8). Therefore "believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you
will be saved" (10:9). How do you hear with your heart? "'If anyone hears My
voice and opens the door, I will come in to him'" (Rev 3:20). Communication is
"inspired by God" (2Ti 3:16). "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit" (Ro
8:16). When Peter heard, Jesus said, "'flesh and blood did not reveal this to
you, but My Father who is in heaven'" (Mt 16:17). It is by "faith which comes
through Him" (Ac 3:16). "By grace you have been saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Eph 2:8-9).

Heaven or Hell?

They didn't apply their knowledge since "they did not honor Him as God, or
give thanks" (Ro 1:21). It was a deliberate decision because "they did not see
fit to acknowledge God" (:28). They "suppress the truth" (:18). They "exchanged
the glory" (:23) and "the truth of God for a lie" (:25). In their pride they
claimed "to be wise" (:22) and "worshipped and served the creature rather than
the Creator" (:25). By their behavior they sealed their own fate. When they
"became futile in their speculations" (:21) it gave "birth to sin . . . [which]
brings forth death (Jas 1:15). Therefore God "gave them over" (Ro 1:24, 26, 28)
to the desires of their hearts. "Their foolish heart was darkened" (:21) in the
form of "impurity" (:24) and "degrading passions" (:26) which are acts of sexual
indecency. They received "in their own persons the due penalty of their error"
(:27). Finally "God gave them over to a depraved mind" (:28) and worse things
happened.

What do you think the destiny of those who "suppress the truth in
unrighteousness" (Ro 1:18), "exchanged the truth of God for a lie" (:25), and
"do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness" (2:8) will be? There will be
"wrath and indignation . . . tribulation and distress for every soul of man who
does evil" (:8-9). You take the wrong direction when you don't "honor Him as God
or give thanks" (1:21). When you claim "to be wise" (:22) yourself and do "not
see fit to acknowledge God any longer" (:28) you become "selfishly ambitious"
(2:8). You serve instead "the creature rather than the Creator" (1:25) and your
"heart was darkened" (:21). "You are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of
. . . the righteous judgment of God" (2:5). Your "end will be according to their
deeds" (2Co 11:15). But if you go the right direction there will be "glory and
honor and peace to everyone who does good" (Ro 2:10). If you don't "hold fast .
. . until the end" (Heb 3: 6) then you won't be saved.

Having the truth is
crucial since "they perish because they refused to love the truth and so be
saved" (2Th 2:10). They "suppress the truth by their wickedness" (Ro 1:18). The
knowledge of God was accessible but people closed their minds to it. "They did
not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God" (:28). The truth of God
has been "clearly seen . . . [and] men are without excuse" (:20). It is a matter
of what one decides in his mind. "Their thinking became futile and their foolish
hearts were darkened" (:21). They didn't glorify God or give thanks (:21) and
then "claimed to be wise" (:22). "God sent them a powerful delusion so that they
will believe the lie and so be condemned who have not believed the truth but
have delighted in wickedness" (2Th 2:11). "Because of this, God gave them over
to shameful lusts" (Ro 1:26). God had protected them before. But "since they did
not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over
[again] to a depraved mind" (:28). "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he" (Pr
23:7)